The launch of a hydrogen pipeline from Denmark to Germany has been postponed by several years, the Ministry of Climate and Energy in Copenhagen said on Tuesday.
The construction planned for 2028 has been delayed until 2031, after an examination by the state-owned company Energinet revealed that extensive environmental and safety studies were still required.
Danish Climate Minister Las Aagaard described the building timeline as “far from ideal” in a statement, but said that the Danish government is “still very positive about the project.”
Sometimes you have to accept reality, he told the news agency Ritzau.
Aagaard had agreed with German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck on a plan to build the pipeline in March 2023.
So-called “green” hydrogen, which is produced using renewable energy from wind and sun, is expected to play a key role in the energy transition toward more climate-friendly fuels.
Hydrogen is expected to be used in production processes in industry that are difficult to switch to electricity.
Germany plans to produce a lot of “green” hydrogen domestically, but also needs to import large quantities and plans to work with other countries such as Norway to do so.
The section from the German border to the Danish town of Esbjerg is now scheduled for completion in 2031, with the entire pipeline to be completed in 2033.
Germany’s Economy Ministry said that the delays would not affect the planned boost to the hydrogen market in Germany.
“We are in constant contact with the Danish side here, and the Danish government also wants to implement the project as soon as possible,” a spokeswoman from the ministry said.
She added that possible ways to speed up the construction are being discussed on the ground and that the aim is to keep the delay as short as possible.
